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The 2017-2018 Football Thread

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Lord Blackadder said:
A rare clean sheet win for Liveprool. Southampton looked flat, especially in the second half, probably because Liverpool have stolen all their best players for years.

Liverpool have now nearly caught up with Man Utd, who really need to look over their shoulders now - though with Chelsea slumping badly and Arsenal continuing to struggle, I'd have to think a top four finish is still likely for Mourinho.



That was a bit of a six pointer, really. And, looking at the table, Sunderland look to be in pretty deep trouble now.



Nice to see Rafa get one over on Mou - and with a vastly inferior team as well. Man Utd were poor today, though they probably created enough chances to win.

I'd prefer to see Newcastle get relegated - not because I dislike Newcastle, or their fans, or Rafa - but they really need to get rid of Mike Ashley. That man is vile.
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Agree on the Mike Ashley front. But I think the devalued Newcastle in the Championship would most likely mean he'll hold onto it for longer to try and get a better price.

And seeing the special one lose to a weaker team is always special ;)

But from a West Ham fans point of view only the Liverpool game went our way today.
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Well, it could have been 1-1, or 5-0, or - the score it actually was - 1-0 to Spurs.
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yup.

Spurs absolutely kicked their ass though.

Spurs did come back down to earth in a very "Spursy" way the final 15 minutes or so. That was when it could have been 1-1.
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Lord Blackadder said:
A rare clean sheet win for Liveprool. Southampton looked flat, especially in the second half, probably because Liverpool have stolen all their best players for years.

Liverpool have now nearly caught up with Man Utd, who really need to look over their shoulders now - though with Chelsea slumping badly and Arsenal continuing to struggle, I'd have to think a top four finish is still likely for Mourinho.



That was a bit of a six pointer, really. And, looking at the table, Sunderland look to be in pretty deep trouble now.



Nice to see Rafa get one over on Mou - and with a vastly inferior team as well. Man Utd were poor today, though they probably created enough chances to win.

I'd prefer to see Newcastle get relegated - not because I dislike Newcastle, or their fans, or Rafa - but they really need to get rid of Mike Ashley. That man is vile.
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Based on their kit alone 'Pool should have had to forfeit that one. Damn that kit is ugly.
 
JamesMike said:
Any further word on Man U manager and possible trouble with Pogba?
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Mourinho has always seemingly focused on building a squad that is defensively sound and mentally amped up into a siege mentality that results in total obedience and commitment. For the attacking side he simply puts some expensive pieces on the board and expects them to figure it out on their own. At the moment, this latter bit is simply not working at Man Utd.
 
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JamesMike said:
Any further word on Man U manager and possible trouble with Pogba?
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Lord Blackadder said:
Mourinho has always seemingly focused on building a squad that is defensively sound and mentally amped up into a siege mentality that results in total obedience and commitment. For the attacking side he simply puts some expensive pieces on the board and expects them to figure it out on their own. At the moment, this latter bit is simply not working at Man Utd.
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And worth noting is the fact that players don't seem to improve or develop as footballers while at United (unlike players at City, Liverpool, and Spurs - some of whom have developed extremely well) which is a serious flaw that can only be laid at the feet of the manager who doesn't seem to see the necessity for this element of management.
 
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I wish Mourinho would develop some irreconcilable differences with Chris Smalling already. His time is long past up. Jones isn't far behind, but at least he looked pretty good next to Bailly, whose injury was a critical blow in retrospect. Lindelof's failure to quickly acclimate to the PL is frustrating, as he has the ball-playing qualities that Smalling utterly lacks.

And if Mourinho wants Pogba to function properly, maybe try sending out a lineup and formation that actually suits him better than what was deployed against Spurs and Newcastle?

Remember when United knuckled down and fought back against adversity under Sir Alex? When was the last time they staged a thrilling comeback? Seems like a distant memory now. That thread of resiliance has been lost.
 
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Silencio said:
Remember when United knuckled down and fought back against adversity under Sir Alex? When was the last time they staged a thrilling comeback? Seems like a distant memory now. That thread of resiliance has been lost.
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There is something stale about Mourinho now. He is still excellent at making his teams extremely hard to beat, but he seems to have lost some of the attacking fervor that characterized his teams of the early 2000s. He seems more cautious and risk-averse than ever, both in his tactics and in selecting personnel. He wants proven talent, and he wants a finished article that does not need to be developed.

Moreover, looking at his squad, I wonder whether he has a clear idea of what his best XI is and how it should be employed. Lots of pieces, but how do they fit together?
 
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Apple fanboy said:
Top six want a West Brom win tonight, bottom 12 want a Chelsea win.

On paper this should only go one way. But you could have made the same argument about Man U and the Toon.
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As a Liverpool supporter, I'm not laughing about West Brom's chances, though the odds still heavily favor a Chelsea win.

EDIT: Another thought on Man Utd's current situation. I'd suggest that the Ferguson era was the best Man Utd will ever experience. Never again will the club win so many trophies in such a short space of time, never will they have a manager serve for so long and never will they regularly instill the same level of fear in opponents.

Just as Liverpool's era of total dominance is probably over forever, Man Utd fans will probably never have the luxury of expecting victory with the regularity they did under Ferg.Man Utd fans talk of trying to get back to the "United Way" of Fergie, but I'd argue that is gone forever. That doesn't mean Man Utd won't win any more trophies, or won't play good football, it just means expecting Ferg-era levels of dominance is probably just not realistic.

I will also be a bit heretical here and suggest that Ferguson, sainted though he may now be, also won a lot of boring matches 1-0 playing a style not unlike Mourinho's. And though people look back on his tenure with rose-tinted glasses, he sometimes stunk the place out and his Man Utd were pretty underwhelming for the first three years after he showed up. No manager gets that much time anymore - which is probably why there will never be another Ferguson/Wenger, ever.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
As a Liverpool supporter, I'm not laughing about West Brom's chances, though the odds still heavily favor a Chelsea win.

EDIT: Another thought on Man Utd's current situation. I'd suggest that the Ferguson era was the best Man Utd will ever experience. Never again will the club win so many trophies in such a short space of time, never will they have a manager serve for so long and never will they regularly instill the same level of fear in opponents.

Just as Liverpool's era of total dominance is probably over forever, Man Utd fans will probably never have the luxury of expecting victory with the regularity they did under Ferg.Man Utd fans talk of trying to get back to the "United Way" of Fergie, but I'd argue that is gone forever. That doesn't mean Man Utd won't win any more trophies, or won't play good football, it just means expecting Ferg-era levels of dominance is probably just not realistic.

I will also be a bit heretical here and suggest that Ferguson, sainted though he may now be, also won a lot of boring matches 1-0 playing a style not unlike Mourinho's. And though people look back on his tenure with rose-tinted glasses, he sometimes stunk the place out and his Man Utd were pretty underwhelming for the first three years after he showed up. No manager gets that much time anymore - which is probably why there will never be another Ferguson/Wenger, ever.
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Excellent post.

But Ferguson knew how to craft teams - and built a number of outstanding teams - over the course of his tenure as manager. Indeed, he wasn't afraid to dismantle successful teams if he had it in mind to craft and construct something better.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
As a Liverpool supporter, I'm not laughing about West Brom's chances, though the odds still heavily favor a Chelsea win.

EDIT: Another thought on Man Utd's current situation. I'd suggest that the Ferguson era was the best Man Utd will ever experience. Never again will the club win so many trophies in such a short space of time, never will they have a manager serve for so long and never will they regularly instill the same level of fear in opponents.

Just as Liverpool's era of total dominance is probably over forever, Man Utd fans will probably never have the luxury of expecting victory with the regularity they did under Ferg.Man Utd fans talk of trying to get back to the "United Way" of Fergie, but I'd argue that is gone forever. That doesn't mean Man Utd won't win any more trophies, or won't play good football, it just means expecting Ferg-era levels of dominance is probably just not realistic.

I will also be a bit heretical here and suggest that Ferguson, sainted though he may now be, also won a lot of boring matches 1-0 playing a style not unlike Mourinho's. And though people look back on his tenure with rose-tinted glasses, he sometimes stunk the place out and his Man Utd were pretty underwhelming for the first three years after he showed up. No manager gets that much time anymore - which is probably why there will never be another Ferguson/Wenger, ever.
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Agree with all you said.
In this day and age no team is going to dominate for a decade.
In the age of foreign ownership, there is always another billionaire willing to pump money into another club.

Also nobody is given the time to build a team. Even if they try, the players have much more power. So let's say you have a team of gifted youngsters, the chances of keeping them all together is almost impossible.

A greedy agent and a few phone calls and one will want away. And once the first one goes, the next will only be a matter of time.

Also people forget Fergi didn't start that well at Man U. In the modern era he might have left at that point.

On last nights result I'd have to say West Brom are gone. Can't see them putting back to back wins together.

At the top it's 5 clubs chasing 4 spots. Couldn't say which way that ones going to go.
 
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Liverpool lead 2-0 away at Porto at halftime. Perfectly set up for the usual 3-3 draw then.

Salah though...even his "scrappy" goals look skillful.
 
A dominant performance by Liverpool. I am genuinely surprised that Porto did not provide stiffer resistance. But at this point I'll happily take the win. A wonderful match from Mane, who had been struggling a little of late.
 
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Lord Blackadder said:
A dominant performance by Liverpool. I am genuinely surprised that Porto did not provide stiffer resistance. But at this point I'll happily take the win. A wonderful match from Mane, who had been struggling a little of late.
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It would be hard to pull of a collapse of that magnitude in the second leg! Looks like your through.
 
Seems the PSG project is already falling apart. And Real are proving to be specialists in this competition.
 
balamw said:
? They got the blessed away goal. All they need to do is win 2-0 at home?

B
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Alphazoid said:
Real are also more than capable of scoring too.
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Real have a big advantage despite PSG's away goal, I assume they will go through unless we see a big (and satisfying, from my perspective) collapse - and that would surely be the end for Zidane??? You couldn't say that either team is the best in the competition. They are both also the "wrong" kind of team in my mind - big celebrity individuals, no 'system'. All glitz and glamor and money.
 
balamw said:
No question, but home field advantage is a big factor especially for these “money” clubs.

Everyone counted Barca out last year after going down 4-0 to PSG.

B
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PSG are certainly capable of winning the tie - no doubt about that. But Real Madrid have a rather annoying habit of coming up big in the big matches. It's all set up for a classic Sergio Ramos score-the-crucial-goal-and-then-get-sent-off performance. Either way I hope both teams really go for it.
 
Currently watching Wigan playing out of their skin keeping Man City at bay in the FA Cup. Well they've already dispatched one top draw Premier League side, so why not! ;)
[doublepost=1519076145][/doublepost]That man again! Grigg. A goal in every round.

Totally against the run of play. Since K De Bruyne came on Man City have looked much more likely to score.
 
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